Saturday, March 6, 2010

Baby Dress

One of my good friends has just had her second baby, a wee girl! Since little baby girls are so cute (and since I don't have one of my own to dress) I decided I'd take this opportunity to make something gorgeous and small and girlie - what else but a beautiful dress?!

Having never made clothes for a small human of the female variety before I decided that a pattern was a definite must, so off I went in search of the perfect dress for a newborn. As all mothers know, any baby clothes must:

Open at the front (never, ever, buy or make clothes for babies that open at the back! They're a complete nightmare to try and get on and off since bubs is all floppy and they can't sit them up while you dress them. Little babies lying face down while you struggle to get their clothes on is not ideal!)

Must be long enough to cover them up and keep them snuggly. There's nothing worse than a baby getting passed around in gorgeous clothes only to spend the whole time pulling the outfit down to cover their nappy or keep them warm.

Must be super cute. That way, at least those nosey people who you don't know from a bar of salt but just have to pop their head into the pram for a look can comment on the clothes, even if the baby doesn't meet with their approval.

Luckily I stumbled across New Look pattern 6903. It met all my criteria and worked perfectly with the fabrics types I had in mind. Being an autumn baby, I wanted to use a narrow soft cordouroy as the main fabric (mainly for warmth) and I wanted to use the Wa Nouveau Small Floral I have in stock as an accent. I found the perfect shade of cordouroy to match the floral, and then I just covered some buttons using the floral fabric. (If you've never covered your own buttons before you should really give it a go - it's a piece of cake and all you need is a wee kit which you can get at most fabric shops that sell accessories. I think a kit will set you back about $5, so it's as cheap as chips). I used 1m of the cordouroy and a fat quarter for the rest, although I did deviate from the pattern when it came to the hem - I wasn't so into the frills, so went for a plain hem out of the coordinating floral rather than going with gathered cordouroy, and didn't bother with a pocket or an applique, as I thought the dress was gorgeous enough without it. Hopefully bubs and her mummy will agree!